


Oh Great, We're Fighting Medusa

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: And always will be, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, FBI Intern Stiles Stilinski, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gerard Argent Dies, Getting Together, I'm Bad At Summaries, Kate Argent Dies, Love Confessions, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Mentioned Jennifer Blake, Mentioned Kate Argent, Oblivious Scott, Past Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Protective Derek, Protective Stiles, Season/Series 06B, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles Stilinski Gets Things Done, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 13:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12133302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Derek and Stiles head back to Beacon Hills to help the pack face the Anuk-Ite and the hunters. When one of the pack get caught in the Anuk-Ite's path, discoveries are made. One that just might lead to what they need to stop the Anuk-Ite and help those affected by it.





	Oh Great, We're Fighting Medusa

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wasn't going to write anything after watching the latest Teen Wolf episode and then I got an idea and this happened. It was supposed to be something short and then blew up.  
> Thanks to my awesome friend and beta Kacie ([beautyinstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautyinstarlight)) <3

“You don’t call. You barely write. I should have known this would be how you’d choose a reunion. Bullets and running from the cops and FBI.” Stiles says, wincing as he feels the sting from where a bullet grazed his thigh. It’s not bleeding much but it still hurts like a bitch.

Stiles and Derek have made it back to Stiles’ apartment, Derek with barely a scratch on him. Which Stiles is grateful for, but still. _He_ could at least heal.

“I wanted to get your attention.” Derek shrugs, giving Stiles a smile that’s all teeth.

“You…” Stiles gapes, arms flailing around in a way they haven’t since he started the Academy and started learning to better control his movements. Leave it to Derek to bring it out of him again. When Stiles speaks again his voice comes out a lot higher than before “ _Are you telling me you made yourself a target just to get my attention?!”_

“It worked, didn’t it?”

Stiles runs a hand down his face, fighting the urge to yell at Derek, “Yeah it did. But it was still stupid. You could have been seriously hurt. _I_ could have been hurt.”

Derek winces at that, looking a little guilty, “I am sorry about that.”

“It’s just a scratch, no harm. I’ve been through worse.” Stiles says as he makes his way into the bathroom, fetching his first aid kit before returning to Derek.

“So I’ve heard,” Derek says, “Chris mentioned something called the Beast? And that’s why you allied with Gerard.”

Stiles doesn’t miss the way Derek practically growls Gerard’s name. And he gets it. “For what it’s worth, I was totally against that plan. I knew he’d eventually turn around and screw us over. But we needed a way to defeat the Beast. And well… Scott’s always been a little too trusting. He keeps proving that.”

“I know he always has been,” the except when it comes to me isn’t mentioned but it still hangs there in the air between them, “but the way you said that makes it sound more recent.”

Stiles glances over at him, taking a deep breath and telling Derek all about Theo and what happened with Donovan and then the Beast, “We sent Theo off somewhere to never be heard from again. Then of course they brought him back. Scott says he helped with the Ghost Riders, which also sucked by the way, getting erased.” Stiles pauses, trying to fight down the lump in his throat before continuing, “But we got past it. And now apparently Theo has joined up with them. Not that any of them have told me _why_ or what’s going on.”

Derek isn’t sure if he should comment on that last part, but he really doesn’t like the bitterness that’s in Stiles’ voice. He settles for something else, “I missed a lot.”

“Yeah thank god. Not that it wouldn't have been nice to have you around but you were away from all that bullshit.” Stiles says, giving Derek another grin but Derek can tell it’s more forced than before. “So Derek Hale, you're a free man again. What are you going to do now?”

Derek takes a deep breath, hating what he’s about to say, what he’s about to ask of Stiles. “Go back to Beacon Hills.”

Stiles groans, “Seriously? Why?”

“Because the pack is in trouble and they need us.”

“And here I was hoping this was just a social visit.”

“Not this time,” Derek says, “Did you really want it to be?”

“Well yeah,” Stiles shrugs, “I missed you.”

Derek gives Stiles one of his rare smiles as he bends down in front of him, taking the gauze from his hands. He needs to do something to distract himself from the feelings that are building up in him again.  “Let me do that.”

“I'm capable of patching myself up,” Stiles reminds him, “I've had plenty of practice.”

Derek really doesn't like to think about that, so instead he just cleans the wound. It's not much, just a graze on his thigh. He tries not to focus on how close he is to Stiles, about how much skin is exposed to him, how warm it is under Derek’s palm. “It'll be like old times.”

Stiles grimaces, “I really wish our old times didn't involve blood and danger.”

Derek snorts, “Maybe if we make it out of this we can start making new ones. Less messy. More happy.”

Stiles grins down at him, squeezing his shoulder. “Hell yeah, I'm gonna hold you too that.”

It’s a few minutes later when Stiles breaks the silence again, asking the question he’s been putting off since Derek mentioned going back to Beacon Hills, “So, what are we facing?”

Derek glances up at him for a moment before looking back down at where his hands are wrapping the bandage around Stiles’ thigh. “A lot. Gerard has turned most of Beacon Hills against the supernatural. They’re afraid, which has only been amplified by the Anuk-Ite. Which can also turn anyone that looks at it to stone.”

“Oh great, we’re fighting Medusa.”

Derek laughs, patting Stiles’ knee as he stands up, offering Stiles his hand, “I think we can handle it, don’t you?”

Stiles gives Derek a considering look, knowing full well he’s just trying to hide how scared he really is. “Yeah, we can handle it. When we get through this you owe me curly fries.”

Derek smiles, “Deal.”

*

Derek doesn’t even try to fight the proud smile when Stiles ploughs right into the hunter that’s going after Scott, sending the man flying.

Stiles rolls down his window, leaning out of the car so he can talk to Scott, “You didn’t think you were gonna do this without me, did ya?”

“Without us.” Derek adds, walking up to stand next to Stiles window.

Stiles rolls his eyes, but winds up grinning over at Derek anyway, “Yeah without us.”

“I didn’t know you were coming,” Scott says, running up to the jeep.

“I didn’t either until Derek showed up,” Stiles says, then glares at Scott, “At least _he_ told me what was going on. What the hell Scott? Why didn’t you or anyone else call me?”

Scott looks sheepish as he rubs the back of his neck, “You were away from here. You were safe. I… _we_ didn’t want to drag you back into this. We almost lost you with the Ghost Riders, Stiles. None of us were ready to risk losing you again.”

“Look, I get that. But you still should have called. That wasn’t your choice to make buddy.” Stiles tells him, “If you guys are in danger I want to help.”

“You too?” Scott asks Derek, “You got out, why come back?”

“I wasn't going to,” Derek admits, “Then we ran into Kate. I knew you'd need help so I went to get Stiles.”

Scott nods, glancing around the parking lot, giving a sigh of relief when Malia, Lydia, and Peter run up, both of the girls happily hugging Stiles. “We should get somewhere more private,” Scott tells them.

“We lost the hunters on the field,” Lydia says, “But they could be close behind, best to get out of here while we can.”

“Let’s just go into the school.”

“Are you sure?” Derek asks, glancing around the parking lot warily. “If the hunters are close…”

“It’ll be like hiding in plain sight,” Scott says, “they won’t be expecting it.”

“I should park the jeep,” Stiles says, “And then I’ll meet you in there.”

“I’ll do it,” Derek offers, “You go inside with the others and I’ll find you. If the hunters do come back it’s better they find me than you.”

“Umm no it’s not. Especially since they’re after _you._ ”

“I’ll be fine Stiles,” Derek opens the door to the car, practically pulling Stiles out before getting inside himself. Stiles just stands there, staring. The look on his face reminds him far too much of the one that he gave Derek in Mexico and Derek hates it. “Go Stiles. I’ll find you.”

Stiles gives him one last look before running inside. Derek is quick parking the jeep and doesn’t encounter any hunters. The school is eerily quiet and he’s filled with a sense of dread. When Derek rounds the corner in the hallway and sees Jennifer he knows what it is. He knows it's not really her, just a manifestation of his mind. He could feel it before he even turned the corner, the cold fear wanting to keep him rooted to the spot. But he fights against it. He needs to find Stiles and the others.

Jennifer babbles on and on but Derek barely hears the words. He tries to force himself to move, to get away from there, to look away. But it's too late. He barely manages a cry of Stiles’ name, a warning, before it's over. His last thought is of Stiles.

*

“ _Stiles!”_

Stiles stops in his tracks when he hears the call, head jerking in the other direction. He starts to turn around and go towards it, go towards Derek when Lydia stops him, giving him an understanding smile. “I know you need to go to him. Just be careful.”

Stiles grins, already backing down the hallway, “Always.”

Stiles takes off, running in the direction he came. When he rounds the corner he stops dead in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat. Stiles stares in horror at Derek, seeing the wolf now turned to stone. It’s not the first time he’s came across someone like this and it won’t be the last. But this one twists his gut and makes it hard for him to breathe because it’s _Derek_. Derek who got out and only came back to help them. He deserved so much better than this. Stiles knows one thing though, if there is a way to fix this he’s going to find it because like hell is he going to leave Derek like this. He’s been through and survived so much. He’s not going to go out like this.

Stiles knows he needs to get away from here, to find the others but before he does he leans in close to Derek’s ear and whispers. He doesn’t know why he whispers, just that it feels much more meaningful and like a promise. He just talks to Derek telling him he’s going to save him and get him back. Then Stiles instinctively leans up and kisses Derek on the cheek, wishing his lips were brushing skin instead of the hard cold stone. He turns to walk away but a hand on his arm stops him. His eyes widen when he realizes the arm belongs to Derek.

“Stiles,” Derek says, voice gruff and filled with awe.

Stiles looks up at Derek, not believing that he’s no longer stone, “Derek. You're back…”

Before Stiles can say anything more Derek is pulling Stiles in by the front of his shirt and kissing him. Stiles barely hesitates before returning the kiss. For all the feeling they pour into the kiss Derek keeps it slow, kissing Stiles so tenderly he feels like something inside of him is breaking and fitting itself back together again.

When Derek pulls away, Stiles can't help the whine that escapes  as he tries to chase Derek's lips, his eyes still closed. “Come back.”

Derek chuckles, squeezing Stiles’ shoulders, and when had his hands moved there? “I'd love to continue this,” Derek tells him, voice barely above a whisper, “but we're in the middle of a war.”

“It can wait,” Stiles tells him, “the others can handle it.”

“If that were true we wouldn't be here,” Derek reminds him.

Then he's tensing and pulling back, causing Stiles to reach out for him. He hates the way Derek's face is closing off. “Derek? What's wrong?”

“I shouldn't have kissed you.” Derek says, refusing to meet his eyes.

Stiles narrows his eyes, “Why the hell not? That kiss was a long time coming, big guy.”

Derek's eyes snap up to meet his, “You're with Lydia, Stiles.”

“No, I _was_ with Lydia. We broke up.”

“When?”

“About a month ago,” Stiles says, shooting him an easy grin. “It was a mutual decision. I saw you on that screen on my first day at the Academy and realized those feelings hadn't gone away. And she had to listen to me talk nonstop about you whenever we were on the phone and came to the same conclusion.”

“Feelings,” Derek says the word slowly, as if he's testing it out on his tongue.

Stiles rolls his eyes, “Yes, _feelings_. I did just save you with the power of my love. My lips broke through your stony exterior and made you skin and bone again.”

“Let's not forget the blood.”

“You're deflecting.”

“I'm not,” Derek replies, “blood is just as important as flesh and bone.”

Stiles smirks, “Especially when it's flowing to certain places.”

“ _Stiles!_ ”

“Hey, if you would have just acknowledged my love for you we could have been having a different conversation.”

“We shouldn't be talking at all,” Derek tells him, “as I said before, we're in the middle of a war.”

“All the more reason,” Stiles tells him, face fierce, “we don't know if we're going to make it out of this. In fact, you almost didn't. You got turned to fucking stone. You shouldn't be here. If I hadn't… Derek. I love you, okay? I have for years. That's not going to change just because you want to ignore it.”

Stiles’ heart rate and breathing speed up the more that he talks, but his voice is firm. Derek stares at him for a moment before surging forward, taking Stiles’ face between his hands and kissing him. He pulls back far enough to speak, their lips brushing when he talks, “I love you too, Stiles. We can talk more about it later. Now we need to help our friends.”

Stiles nods, leaning in to place a quick kiss to his lips before pulling away, a grin on his face, “Later then.”

Stiles takes Derek's hand, lacing their fingers together when they start walking down the hallway. Derek squeezes his hand in reassurance, “There is going to be a later Stiles.”

“You're damn right there will be because you still owe me curly fries,” Stiles says, glancing his way. His voice is light but Derek can tell he's afraid. Still, Stiles squares his shoulders and walks on, “do you hear them?”

Derek listens a moment, trying to pick up on any sign of the pack, “They're in the library.”

“Of course they're in the library,” Stiles mutters, “nothing good ever happens in the library.”

Derek snorts, “Studying?”

“More like blood, chaos, and death.”

“What sort of studying have you been doing?”

Stiles isn’t surprised to see Derek smirking so he gives him a smirk of his own, “I assure you, not all of my studying is academic or related to danger. Some of it is much more fun.”

Before Derek can ask what he’s referring to the library doors are opening and Scott is beckoning them inside, shutting and locking the door behind them.

Stiles gives him a wary look, “Umm no offense here Scotty, but are you sure the smartest thing for us to do right now is lock ourselves in a room with the big bad roaming around?” Stiles is confused when Scott doesn’t immediately respond, instead just stares at him and Derek. Stiles glances at Derek who just shrugs. When Stiles looks at Lydia and Malia they’re both smirking, which does not reassure him any. And Scott is still staring, or more like gaping, at them. “Scott? Buddy? You in there?”

Derek tilts his head and then snorts, raising he and Stiles’ joined hands up to his mouth and placing a kiss on Stiles knuckles. Derek full on laughs when Scott let’s out a strangled sound at the sight, “I think he’s in shock.”

Stiles looks between Scott and Derek, “Really? About us?”

Derek shrugs, “Seems like it.”

Before Stiles can say anything Malia is walking up to Scott and smacking him upside the head. Scott turns on her, pouting, “What the hell Malia?”

“You were being ridiculous,” she tells him, “they’re dating. Get over it.”

“I don’t care that they’re dating,” Scott says, wheeling back around to face Stiles and Derek, “Really! I don’t. I’m just shocked I guess.”

Peter snorts from his spot at one of the tables, “Really? Because this has been a long time coming.”

“And we have more important things to deal with right now,” Lydia says, giving them an apologetic look, “I’m happy for you, really. But we’re kind of in a life or death situation right now.”

Stiles shrugs, sending her an understanding smile, “I get it. And you’re right. We need to figure out how to stop this thing.”

“We think we know how to change people back at least,” Derek says, surprising everyone, except for Stiles who blushes.

“Really?” Scott asks, “How?”

“True love’s kiss?” Stiles says, but it comes out sounding more like a question.

“True love’s kiss,” Peter says, face skeptical, “What kind of bullshit is that?”

“It’s not bullshit!” Stiles says, “I’ve seen it work.”

Peter asks “How?” at the same time Malia asks “With who?”

Derek gives Stiles’ hand a squeeze before speaking, “With me.”

“That’s why you were calling for him in the hallway,” Lydia says, realization dawning on her, “You saw it.”

Derek nods, “I did. I got turned to stone and Stiles found me. He kissed me on the cheek and I turned back.”

“What about the people that don’t have a true love?” Malia asks.

“It might not have to be romantic love,” Stiles says, “I mean, that obviously works. But it could just as easy be platonic. Like the love of a parent and child. Just as long as the love is strong.”

“Well that’s a start,” Lydia says, giving a sigh of relief, “Now we just need a way to defeat it.”

“Wait…” Stiles says, looking around at the others, then back at Derek with a grin, “It’s like Medusa.”

Derek’s brow furrows, not catching on to what Stiles is saying, “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything.”

“Oh you’re right!” Lydia says, excitedly, clapping her hands together.

“I don’t get how this creature being like Medusa helps us in any way.” Malia says.

“It turns everything that looks at it to stone, like Medusa,” Stiles says, “Why wouldn’t that apply to itself? We just have to show it it’s own reflection.”

“That’s brilliant!” Derek says, leaning in to place a kiss to the side of Stiles’ head.

“If it works,” Peter says, being a buzzkill like always, “which we don’t know if it will.”

“Well it’s all we’ve got right now, “ Malia says, “Now we just need to find some mirrors.”

“We can take the ones off the walls in the bathrooms,” Stiles says, “we need to tell everyone we know too. So they know to walk around with mirrors in case they encounter it.”

Scott nods, pulling out his phone before remembering he can’t get service, “We’ll have to go find them then. Let’s get the mirrors and then we can split up and find the others.”

“What about the people we don’t know personally?” Lydia asks, “we can’t just leave them defenseless.”

“In case you forgot, most of those people are trying to kill us.” Peter reminds her.

“That doesn’t mean they should have to die.” Scott says.

“Why not? They’d let you die in a heartbeat. In fact, they’re hoping for it.”

“We could always make flyers and put them in public places,” Malia suggests.

“If you want you go and make your pretty little fliers, fine. But I’m going to go grab myself a mirror and get the hell out of here.” Peter says, pushing to his feet and walking towards the door.

“I need to find my Dad,” Stiles says, “He needs to know. Parrish and Melissa are with him. Chris too. If I can tell them then they can try and get the word out.”

“I’ll come with you,” Derek offers.

Stiles shoots him a grin, “Like I was going to let you out of my sight anyway.”

They get as many mirrors as they can, over 500 after they break into people’s lockers and steal their mirrors. _Thank god for vanity_ , Stiles thinks. He doesn’t feel the least bit guilty. Mirrors can be replaced, lives cannot. Stiles and Derek go to the tunnels, their share of the mirrors in bags slung over their shoulders. Stiles carries what he can while Derek carries the rest.

The Sheriff gives them a confused look when they set the bags on the table, the mirrors banging together noisily, “What do you have there son?”

“What? No hello for your only son that you haven’t seen in months?” Stiles asks, opening one of the bags and pulling a mirror out.

The Sheriff rolls his eyes but pulls Stiles into a tight hug, “I missed you son. Now why do you have mirrors?”

Stiles pulls back with a grin, “ _Because_ we figured out that the Anuk-Ite is like Medusa.”

“And?”

“It turns people to stone like Medusa,” Chris says, giving Stiles and Derek an impressed look. “In Greek Mythology they defeated Medusa by showing her her own reflection.”

Stiles nods, “Exactly. So if the Anuk-Ite is like Medusa, why can’t it be defeated the same way?”

“By showing it it’s own reflection.” Melissa says, picking up one of the mirrors and examining it, “Where did you get these?”

“We borrowed them?”

The Sheriff gives Stiles a long look before shaking his head, “You know what? I don’t care. Right now I’m not the Sheriff so it’s not my problem how you got them. If having the mirrors helps us defeat this thing it doesn’t matter how they were acquired.”

“Good,” Stiles grins, “Lydia and Malia are making up flyers to leave in public places so we can at least warn people. And then we have these. Now we just need to find the thing.”

“Find it?” Derek asks at the same time the Sheriff says, “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah. Find it. Now that we know how to defeat it we should find it and take care of it before it turns anyone else to stone,” at this he gives Derek a long look.

Derek sighs, “It’s not going to hurt us again Stiles. We’re prepared. Or least we _think_ we are. That’s the problem. Your plan is great, but what if it doesn’t work? You’re not running off after this thing on a guess.”

“Yeah well neither are you,” Stiles says, face a storm of emotions, “I’m not going to let it turn you to stone again, Derek.”

“Again?” The Sheriff asks.

“It turned you to stone?” Parrish asks, voice more curious than anything, “If it turned you to stone how are you standing here?”

“Please don’t ask that.” Derek says, sighing when he sees Stiles grinning.

“I brought him back.”

The Sheriff looks between the two of them, “Do I want to know how?”

“Yes!” Stiles says happily, grinning around at the room before his eyes settle on Derek, “I brought him back with my love!”

Derek groans, burying his face in Stiles neck, “Stiles.”

“What? It’s true. I have magic lips.”

Derek smiles against Stiles skin, lifting his eyes to see John, Chris, Melissa, and Parrish watching them with curious eyes.

“So that finally happened, did it?” John asks.

“Yep,” Stiles says, patting Derek on the chest, “I finally got my man.”

John looks at Derek, “You sure about this son?”

“Hey!”

Derek glances at Stiles before looking at John, giving a firm nod, “Yes sir.”

“No need to call me sir, Derek. I think John will do just fine.” John tells him.

“Yes sir...John.”

“Not to interrupt this bonding moment, but back to the earlier discussion,” Stiles says, “We need to come up with a plan.”

“A plan is better than just running off into danger I guess.” Derek says.

“Where's Scott?” Melissa asks, “Does he know about the mirrors?”

Stiles nods, “He knows. He went to find Liam, Mason, Corey, and Theo to tell them. They're going to meet us here.”

Derek goes still beside him, looking over at Melissa, “They're here.”

“Perfect timing,” Stiles says when they walk in, “we were just talking about how to go about defeating the Anuk-Ite.”

“Stiles,” Theo says, nodding towards him, “I didn't know whether to believe it when Scott said you were back. I thought you'd be smart enough to stay away from this mess.”

Stiles glares over at Theo, squeezing Derek's arm when he tenses beside him, “My pack needs me so I'm here.”

“If he hadn't come back we wouldn't know how to defeat the Anuk-Ite,” Mason says.

“I keep telling you all you'd be lost without me.”

“Which is why you're not running off into danger,” Derek says, pulling Stiles closer by the waist.

He doesn't miss the smirk Theo sends in their direction, “So you must be Derek. No one mentioned you two were together.”

“It's new,” Stiles says, “and none of your business.”

“So you said something about talking about how to defeat the Anuk-Ite?” Liam says, looking between Derek and Theo nervously.

Stiles nods, “I don't think we should wait for it to come to us. There's no telling how many more people could be hurt. We need to find it and take it out.”

“So rather than running from the thing that can turn people into stone you want to run towards it?” Theo asks, face skeptical.

“Not everyone has to do. I'm going to. But we also need to focus on Gerard and the other hunters.”

“If we get rid of the Anuk-Ite that should handle the hunters though,” Scott says.

Stiles fights the urge to roll his eyes. Leave it to Scott to try and see the best in people even when they don't deserve it, “I know you want to see the best in people Scott but evil does exist. We've seen that in Gerard and Kate. No offense Chris, but you're family is insane,” Stiles says to Chris who shrugs, “Sometimes we can't handle people by just talking to them. Sometimes people are just _bad._ Sometimes we have to make the hard choices. If you won't then someone else has to.”

“He's right Scott,” Melissa says, “These people don't care about you, or any of us. They put me in the hospital, and your father, Lydia, and Mason. The time for playing nice is over.”

“But we don’t kill people.” Scott says, voice small.

“Not _innocent_ people. But these people are far from innocent Scott.” Stiles says, “What’s going to happen when we get rid of the Anuk-Ite and these people are still trying to kill us? Are you just going to let it go? Are you going to let them hurt more people you care about because you refuse to defend your pack?”

“I am defending my pack.”

“I know you’re trying to. But these people are playing on a whole different level than you are. I’m not saying you have to play dirty. But you have to realize that we might not be able to get out of this with our hands completely clean.”

“You’ve changed,” Scott tells him, narrowing him eyes at Stiles.

Derek growls beside him but Stiles shakes his head, staring Scott right in the eye. “Someone had to. You can do whatever you want Scott. I’m going to find the Anuk-Ite. You can try to handle your hunters with your nice words and see if you make it out alive.”

Stiles doesn’t wait for a response before turning around and walking out of the room, Derek right on his heels. Stiles stops and turns around when he hears his Dad calling after him, “You can’t stop me.”

“I’m not going to try to son,” John tells him, “I don’t particularly like you going after this thing but I get why you need to. Which is why I’m coming with you.”

“And so am I,” Chris says, walking up beside John.

Stiles looks over at his Dad and Chris before looking over at Derek who just shrugs. His brain is screaming about how dangerous this is but he knows his Dad wouldn’t be impressed with Stiles telling him he shouldn’t go because it’s dangerous when he himself is running off towards the danger. “Fine. We’ll all go.”

Turns out they don’t have to go far to find the Anuk-Ite. They’re almost the exit to the tunnels when they feel the shift in the air. _Fear_ , Stiles thinks. “I have an idea,” Stiles whispers to them, “We should all turn with our backs together and the mirrors at the ready in case it comes up. We’re never going to have a better opportunity than this. We have all angles covered.”

Derek nods, leaning in to kiss Stiles quickly, “Be careful and don’t look at it.”

“Same goes for you big guy,” Stiles says, turning around until his back is to his Dad, his shoulders pressing against Chris and Derek.

Stiles takes Derek’s hand, the mirror held up with the other, needing the contact between them. Stiles can feel his fear growing as he’s sure the Anuk-Ite is coming closer. He turns Derek’s face towards him, leaning their foreheads together and staring into his eyes for a moment. If he can focus on Derek he won’t be tempted to look at the Anuk-Ite. His breathing is coming faster and he wants so badly to close his eyes but he doesn’t. He forces himself to keep them open and focused on Derek’s green ones. “I’ve always loved your eyes,” Stiles says to him.

Derek chuckles, nudging Stiles’ nose with his own, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Stiles feels his breath leave him for a moment before there’s a terrible scream from in front of him then silence. Nothing happens at first. Then he feels the crippling fear slowly leave him, his breathing return to normal.

“So umm… one problem with this plan. How do we know we defeated it if we can’t look at it?” Stiles asks.

“We probably should have thought of that,” Derek says with a small grin, “But I think it’s gone. I don’t feel the constant fear like I did before.”

“Neither do I,” The Sheriff agrees.

“Someone is going to have to look at it,” Chris says from beside Stiles, his mirror still held out in front of him just in case.

“Well it is in front of me so,” Stiles takes a deep breath, giving Derek a reassuring smile when he tightens his hold on Stiles’ hand, “I’ll be okay.”

Stiles takes another deep breath before turning his head and looking in front of him. Stiles lets out a relieved laugh when he doesn’t immediately turn to stone.

“Did it work?” Derek asks, voice worried.

“I was able to laugh, wasn’t I?” Stiles turns around and jumps into Derek’s arms, kissing him hard, not caring that his Dad is standing only a few feet away, the mirror in Stiles’ hand dropping to the ground with a loud shattering sound.

“Kind of glad I’m facing away from what’s happening over there,” Stiles hears his Dad mutter, “I’m guessing it worked then?”

Stiles pulls back, giving Derek a giddy smile, “Yeah it worked. The Anuk-Ite is turned to stone.”

“Oh thank God,” John says, giving a long sigh of relief, “That’s one less thing to deal with.”

“Now we just have to deal with Gerard and Monroe and the rest of the idiots they gave guns to.” Chris says, walking back towards the room John has set up as his temporary office.

“We can do it,” Stiles says, “We just defeated a creature we couldn’t even look at. This should be nothing.”

Derek rolls his eyes, “I doubt it will be that easy, Stiles.”

“Maybe if we cut off the head the rest will fall. You know, get rid of the leader then the underlings will scurry away.”

“You mean kill Gerard?”

Stiles shrugs, “And Monroe.”

“I’m not hearing this,” John mutters, opening the door to his office before closing it again quickly.

“Uhh Dad? What’s going on?”

“Theo and Liam are in there,” John whispers, looking startled.

“What are they doing?” Stiles asks, going for the door handle, “Fighting?”

Stiles opens the door, prepared to tell Theo off for being an asshole. Except they’re not fighting. They’re kissing. “What the hell?”

Stiles doesn’t mean to say it. But he’s so surprised by what he sees that it just slips out. Theo and Liam spring apart turning to look at where Stiles is standing, hand still gripping the door handle. Liam looks nervous but Theo just looks smug.

“Did you need something Stiles?” Theo asks.

“We defeated the Anuk-Ite,” Stiles says, “We came back here to make a plan about Gerard and Monroe but umm… now is obviously not a good time to be here.”

“Wait,” Theo says, stopping Stiles before he can leave, “you actually defeated the Anuk-Ite?”

“Yeah. It saw it’s reflection and turned to stone.”

“Is it out there?” Liam asks, looking excited, “Can I see it?”

“Yeah, just head towards the exit and you’ll find it,” Stiles tells him.

Liam grabs Theo’s hand and drags him out of the room, heading off to see the Anuk-Ite. Stiles watches them go, brow furrowed in confusion. He glances at his Dad, “How long has that been going on?”

John shrugs, “I didn’t know it was.”

Stiles doesn’t know what to do with that information. Sure, he doesn’t like Theo. It might take him a long time to get there. But from what Lydia tells him Theo has been trying and actually helping the pack out. While he doesn’t trusts Scott’s opinion when it comes to Theo, he considers Lydia to be a much more reliable source of information. “As long as they’re not fighting, I guess.”

“We used to fight,” Derek tells him, “Yet here we are.”

“Yeah but you’re nothing like Theo. You never were,” Stiles says, “You could be all growly and grumpy but there was a secret soft side under all that tough exterior.”

“Oh boy,” John sighs.

Stiles grins over at his Dad, “So what’s the plan?”

*

Turns out Stiles was right, which he is more than happy to remind everyone. Chris finally kills Gerard, ignoring his pleas to be spared while Stiles kills Monroe. She isn’t expecting it, thinking Stiles is coming to talk and beg for his friends lives. She never expects the Sheriff’s son to be a danger to her. She underestimates him. That’s her problem. She goes for her gun, thinking she can use Stiles against the rest of the pack, but Stiles is faster, putting a bullet in her head before her hand can even pull her gun out.

Kate tries to run once she finds out that Gerard and Monroe are dead but Stiles finds her too. Stiles puts two bullets in her head, wanting to be sure she can’t come back and hurt Derek again.

Scott isn’t happy about the killing but Stiles can’t find it in himself to care. He did what he had to do to protect the people he cares about. It’s like he told Scott, someone had to do it.

Stiles heads back to the Academy a week later, taking Derek with him. Derek is more than happy to go, ready to finally settle down for a while. He’s tired of running. He’s ready for some happiness and stability. Stiles is more than happy to be the one that gives that to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day <3  
> I'm on break from school (mostly) and trying to get some writing done before I go back and things get hectic so [send me some prompts (:](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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